The present application relates to manhole cover assemblies, and, more particularly, to a manhole cover with dual lifting ports.
Manholes are well-known and widely utilized. Generally, a manhole provides access for maintenance of infrastructure, for instance, underground pipelines or cabling. Traditional manhole covers rest on a frame that is attached to the substructure above infrastructure to be maintained. Examples of such substructure include the base for a road or sidewalk. The cover rests on this frame and must be lifted away to gain access to the infrastructure beneath the manhole. Because manhole covers are predominantly made of iron and can weigh in excess of 100 pounds, the effort required to lift a manhole cover can be difficult and even injurious to the operator.
Many attempts have been made to ease the effort required to lift a manhole cover from its frame. For example, some manhole covers include a hole extending through the cover. To lift the cover, an operator inserts a pointed tool through the hole to either pry up or lift the cover. This method provides some additional lifting leverage, but the hole in the cover provides direct access for external contaminants to drain below to the infrastructure.
Other manhole covers include a lifting insert within the upper face of the cover. These lifting inserts are typically cast inserts that are placed in a recess in the face of the cover. The inserts define a cutout in the face of the cover, and they include a bar that extends over the cutout such that a pointed tool could be wedged underneath or against the bar to provide lifting leverage. The cutout is typically symmetrical in shape, and it typically does not extend completely through the insert to prevent external contaminants from draining through the cover. To open such a cover, an operator wedges a tool into the cutout and underneath or against the bar, and applies a force on the bar, lifting the cover away from the frame. This type of cover prevents outside contaminants from draining directly into the infrastructure, but new problems arise due to runoff and other debris that tend to collect in the cutout. Thus, an operator may be required to clear out the cutout prior to opening the cover. In addition, installing an insert in this way may generate increased manufacturing costs because of the additional steps necessary to fabricate such a cover.